


Winx Club: Fate Retold

by angelcake1a



Category: Winx Club
Genre: Multi, These relationship tags are just what's canon or implied tbh, basically the cartoon is divded up like a young adult tv show but written like a young adult novel, but theres subtext everywhere so do what you want with it lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29222115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelcake1a/pseuds/angelcake1a
Summary: Rewriting of Winx Club as a bit of a young adult novel/tv show. It's sort of based of the idea of Fate in that it's going to try to give off the vibe of a modern day mature television show but the plot will all be original Winx Club (I don't know anything about Fate).It’s in the same universe but modernized a bit and set where Alfea is a University/College rather than a high school. I will change a few plot details and points but overall it’s very canon.Rated teen as there will be swearing and some violent or sexual references but it’ll be pretty lowkey. This isn’t a unique idea, I’ve seen a few really great fanfics doing this already but I wanted to work on my writing and try interpreting it my own way too. Hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Bloom/Icy (Winx Club), Bloom/Sky (Winx Club), Bloom/Stella (Winx Club), Brandon/Stella (Winx Club), Darcy/Riven (Winx Club), Musa/Riven (Winx Club), Tecna/Timmy (Winx Club)
Kudos: 8





	1. It Feels Like Magic

Bloom woke up in her bedroom, head and heart pounding. The sun in the sky told her it was already the afternoon, she squinted at the light coming from her window. Normally she was an early bird, it was unlike her to still be asleep at this time, even on a weekend. Maybe it was the wild dream she had last night that kept her under so long. She looked around her room, assessing all the items and making sure nothing was out of the ordinary. She didn’t know why she felt the need to check, she usually wasn’t one to be neurotic about such things. Her eyes crossed her work desk muddled with pencil crayons, her pet bunny safely in his cage, a book of fairy tales that lay open on her floor. Her heart jumped.

  
With shaking hands she rolled out onto the floor, she was still in her t-shirt and jeans from the day before, and took the book into her hands. Fairies. Why was she reading about fairies?

  
“Bloom?” Her mother opened her door. “You’re still up here?”

  
“Yeah, sorry, mom. I guess I was just really tired.”

  
“So...do you want to tell me about the girl asleep downstairs? In the guest room?”

  
Bloom got to her feet, reality kicking in. Shit. It wasn’t a dream. “She’s just a friend. She’s visiting from far away. Don’t wake her up, okay?”

  
She was lucky to have a mother so mild tempered. She always trusted Bloom for anything, maybe because her only child never caused much trouble. In Bloom’s mind, it wasn’t a good thing. That just meant she was boring. But, hey, at least she wasn’t a disgrace to her family.

  
“Alright, sweetie. Come down to eat. We made pancakes for breakfast and saved you some.”

  
Bloom nodded, following closely at her mother’s heels. Did yesterday really happen? Did she really discover a magical battle in the park? And did she really win?

\---

Moving from a small town to a small city for her last year of high school was far from Bloom’s idea of a smooth transition. The kids were mean, the pressure high, and there was little space for peace and quiet. Only after graduation, when the summer sun graced the cloudy Gardenia, did Bloom discover a nook in the park on the edge of town. It had a small bench with room for only one person that became her spot of choice to have private discussions with her sketchbook. On its pages she told of the people passing by on the street, seen through a lens of loose foliage, and explained their appearance, their stature, what their business might be as they paused at the crosswalk; a brief break between the bustle of the city.

  
Practically every day of her summer, she rode her rusty red bike down to the park and people-watched. No, people-sketched. It took her mind off of the difficult things, namely, the uncertainty of the future. Uncertainty was something Bloom was more than used to but she always had hoped that she would outgrow the fear around it one day. As if she would wake in the morning and suddenly everything would make sense and nothing would scare her anymore. A childish dream. If anything, she was more scared than ever. Bloom was a good student but her ambition seemed to outweigh her qualification. Despite the array of Universities she had applied to, none had yet to accept her. Maybe she shouldn’t be trying for big art schools outside the city, that’s what her guidance counsellor told her. Those schools were for kids who’d been painting like Picasso at age six. Yet her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams. They always told her to strive for the best, even if it led to disappointment. And, boy, did it lead to disappointment. Maybe she really wasn’t worth it after all. She should just settle at the Gardenia Community College and get a job in the downtown area like most of her fellow alumni. Right?

  
Her thoughts had distracted her from her work. Bloom found herself looking into the sky instead of at her paper. With a sigh, she tucked her legs up onto the bench and mindlessly sketched stars on the knees on her bell bottom jeans. The new ink brightly contrasted the faded hearts she’d drawn last week.

  
“Get away!”

  
Bloom quickly turned her attention to a female voice in the distance. She hadn’t realized the sun was setting. The park wasn’t as busy as the evening creeped in, she began to worry about the stranger the longer the silence lingered. As she stood to her feet, tucking her sketchbook in her book bag, the voice shouted again. Bloom couldn’t make out the words but she gulped as she realized it was coming from the woods on the outside of town, a landscape unknown compared to her cherished park bench.

  
“Take that!” Bloom heard the girl shout again. A flash of light seemed to burst and dim through the trees.

  
Taking her phone out carefully, Bloom prepared to film whatever was going on in the woods and, if necessary, call the proper authorities. She looked over her screen and slowly approached. A thick foul smell became strong, sort of like hot garbage. Another flash.

  
“That can’t be all you’ve got.” She could see the girl now. Tall, blonde, around Bloom’s age, and sporting translucent wings that fluttered eagerly on her back.

  
Bloom gasped, almost dropping her phone, but the next sight she saw was even more shocking. A large man, maybe seven feet tall, with deep yellow skin and bloodshot eyes loomed over the girl. He let out a terrible roar, bearing sharp teeth.

  
“I can’t be seeing this.” Bloom couldn’t help but whisper to herself.

  
The man, if that’s really what he was, took a swipe at the girl, if that’s really what she was, which she attempted to block with the shining blue scepter in her hands. However, her strength couldn’t match his and she was sent backwards.

  
“You won’t get away with this, you ogre!” The girl shouted as she scrambled to get up. She looked in her hands only to find her scepter had landed between them.  
The two creatures rushed towards each other, trying to be the first to reach the weapon. The girl won then promptly shot a burst of light from it and the ogre took his turn flying backwards.

  
“I already have, little fairy!” The ogre spoke back with a deep and raspy voice. Despite his size he rose quickly from the ground and started barrelling towards the fairy.

  
Bloom couldn’t be a bystander any longer. She closed her phone and shoved it in her bag. She grabbed a large stick that lay near her feet and she ran into action. It wasn’t the most rational choice but Bloom had never been one to sit still and watch injustice happen. She was no passive observer. She hadn’t been one when her only friend in high school was being bullied even when standing up meant becoming the main target herself. She hadn’t been one when the nerdy boy in class was dared to ask her, the new girl, to prom and she went with him anyways. She hadn’t been one when she saw a little boy returning a bunny he’d gotten bored of to the pet store Bloom worked at and decided to take it for herself. And she wasn’t about to be one now.

  
Loud crack echoed through the woods. Bloom found herself on the ogre’s back, suddenly she could tell where the smell was coming from, and the stick in her hand was in half, shattered against his nape.

  
“Who are you?” The ogre seemed as amused as he was angry. The splintering blow seemed to have barely inconvenienced him.

  
Bloom was flung from his back and quickly picked up again. Both her wrists fit in just one of his hands. Fuck.

  
“Let her go!” The fairy was defending Bloom now, pointing the scepter at them as the ogre attempted to body block.

  
“Give me your scepter and I’ll let her go.” The ogre chuckled. Bloom winced. His breath was just as bad.

  
The fairy looked at Bloom with golden brown eyes. She seemed conflicted. Bloom didn’t expect any sort of grand sacrifice. She didn’t even know if she was fighting for the right side here. Like every other instance in her life, Bloom had reacted with passion and impulse before logic. So, now here she was, being held up as a trade offering to a fairy by an ogre in the woods.

  
“Fine.”

  
“Really?” Both Bloom and the ogre spoke at the same time, surprised at the fairy’s quick compliance.

  
“Yes, really.” The fairy marched over to them. Her long pigtails bobbing behind her. Her orange outfit glittering in the setting sun. “I’m not going to risk an innocent life. Not even for the Ring of Solaria.”

  
“Smart choice.” The ogre said.

  
Bloom shook her head. “No, no. I’m trying to help you here. You can’t just give that to him. Whatever it is.”

  
“Well, I’m trying to help _you_.” The fairy handed the specter to the ogre who dropped Bloom the moment he had hold of it. She moved down to Bloom’s level to check if she was alright without hesitation. No tricks, no resentment, the blonde was genuinely concerned.

  
“Perfect. Now I have to make sure you won’t come chasing us for it.” The ogre pointed the scepter at the two girls on the ground. It began to glow.

  
“Wait!” The fairy lifted her hand to stop him.

  
Bloom shut her eyes and waited for an impact that never came.

  
“Wow!” The fairy whispered.

  
Bloom opened her eyes to find the two of them inside a glowing orange bubble, the magic from the scepter bouncing off of it effortlessly. The fairy must’ve put some sort of force field on them.

  
“You’ve got serious winx, girl.”

  
“I’ve got...what?” Bloom shook her head, more confused than ever.

  
The ogre struck the bubble with the handle of the scepter, it burst as easily as it was created. Before he could attack again, Bloom felt a warmth in her palms. She must be even more nervous than she thought. Suddenly, a burst of light filled the sky. The ogre was thrown back and the scepter dropped from his grasp. Bloom picked it up quickly and turned it back on their aggressor one last time.

  
“Get out of here.” She stood her ground despite being utterly petrified of what was happening. Bloom felt unlike herself. Although she was dizzy, like she could faint at any moment, she also felt powerful.

  
The ogre snorted, clearly winded by the light that had just hit him. “She’s lucky to have you. But I’ll be back.”

  
With a flash of purple smoke, he disappeared into nothingness.

  
“Holy shit,” Bloom clutched her shirt where her heart would be. She was shaking but smiling. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

  
She turned to the fairy only to find her unconscious on the ground behind Bloom. Her wings were gone. She wore a simple orange sundress instead of the glitzy outfit that was on her earlier.

  
“Hello?” Bloom tried shaking her awake. “You’re okay, right?”

  
An owl hooted in the distance. Bloom tensed. She feared what else might be lurking in the shadows. Despite her better judgement, she hoisted up the fairy, the weightlessness of the girl surprised her. If this were any other stranger, she would’ve taken her to the hospital, but Bloom had seen enough sci-fi and fantasy movies to know not to bring any magical creature to a government facility. Looks like they were having a sleepover at Bloom’s house.

\---

“Hey, Bloom,” her father’s booming voice began before she’d even reached the bottom of the stairs. “Today’s the day we’re going to clean the garage!”

  
“Today? Come on, Dad. I have lots of stuff I’ve got to do. Important stuff.”

  
He lowered his newspaper, making eye contact with her. “Stuff? What kind of stuff?”

  
Her mother handed her a stack of blueberry pancakes, cold from the fridge, but still light and fluffy as a cloud.

  
“I don’t know. I mean…” Bloom swirled a dollop of whipped cream on top clumsily. She didn’t really hide things from her parents, but how could she ever explain this? “Do you remember when I was into fairies and witches, dad?”

  
“Of course I do. You were so cute running around pretending to know magic.”

  
“I remember too,” her mother chimed in, “I had to give up my mixing spoon for a week so it could be your magic wand.”

  
Bloom nodded. “Right, well, the thing is-”

  
Her dad laughed. “If only you really knew magic and could just wave that wand to make the garage could clean itself!”

  
“I mean, that’s kind of what I’m talking about.” Bloom took a mouthful of pancake before continuing. “You know my friend...the girl asleep in the guest room?”

  
“Oh, Mike, she just wants to spend the day with her friend.” Bloom’s mother playfully hit her husband’s shoulder with a dishcloth.

  
“Uh, yeah.” She folded. Telling them was too awkward, she’d find another time. “I don’t have many of them, you know.”

  
“Well, you will be off on your own soon in a fancy new school. I guess we should give you some more freedom with your friends. You are almost an adult now after all.” He put his hand thoughtfully under his chin, a good sign.

  
“Right. I can’t just work at the flower shop and then sit in the park all summer.” Bloom gulped, parroting words they’d said to her before to try to convince her to go out more. They were too sweet to see she just had no one to go out with.

  
“You know what. Go pick up our grocery order and you can have the rest of the day off.”

  
“Yes! Thank you, dad. You’re the best!” She hugged him, almost making him spill his coffee as he leaned in for a sip.

  
She could butter her parents up easily. They’d do anything for her. She loved that about them and she never doubted that they loved her. But sometimes they seemed so blind to any issues she was going through. Maybe they thought that only imaging the best for her would lead to it.

  
Bloom rushed outside to grab her bike only to find it missing from its regular spot in the garage. Of course, she’d left it at the park. Luckily it wasn’t far from the grocers, a perk of small city living. She jogged, not wanting to be out too long. What if the fairy woke up and Bloom wasn’t around? She regretted not checking in on her before running out, even if just to confirm she really was still there. Bloom didn’t feel any different than the day before. How was it possible that she’d banished an ogre less than 24 hours ago?

  
“Hey, Bloom!”

She’d know that voice anywhere. Mitzi.

  
“Oh, hey, Mitzi.” Bloom put on a meek smile. Mitzi wasn’t the meanest person in the school, but she certainly wasn’t the nicest either. You just had to stay on her good side, no matter what she said to you. Although they’d graduated, Bloom still had the pleasure of seeing her around town. Just another reason she had to get into a good college and out of Gardenia.

  
“I found this in the park this morning and would recognize it anywhere. I was just going to bring it over to your house.” Mitzi gestured to something she was wheeling under a picnic blanket.

  
“Is that my bike? Why did you put that on it?” Bloom asked, moving to investigate.

  
“I couldn’t let anyone see me wheeling this junkyard scrap through town now could I? I have a reputation to uphold.” She pushed up her sunglasses.

  
There it was. Classic Mitzi.

  
“Well, thanks for going through the effort of bringing it over. Were you in the park for a picnic?” Bloom cursed her own kindness. One question for Mitzi meant a never ending conversation.

  
“Of course not. I don’t eat on the fucking ground. Someone else left this thing unattended.” She checked her phone, or maybe she was just looking at her reflection. “If I had my scooter, you know, my _electric_ scooter, then I could have towed it to your place. It would’ve been way easier. Luckily, I felt like doing a good deed today and bringing it to you myself. You can keep the blanket too, I definitely don’t need it.”

  
Bloom took the break in her sentence to snatch the bike out of her hands. “Thanks. See you around, Mitzi.”

  
“See you, Bloom. I’ll send you some pics from my vacation home next week. It’ll give you a chance to see something new this summer.”

\---

“She’s been asleep almost twenty four hours, Bloom. Are you sure she’s okay?”

  
“Yeah, dad, she’s fine.”

  
She didn’t have to worry about the fairy waking up before she returned after all. Bloom had picked up the groceries, studied her brains out on fairy conspiracy theories online, helped with and ate dinner, and even managed to tidy some of the garage. And still...the fairy slept.

  
“What were you two doing last night?”

  
“Nothing. I mean, I guess she kind of got into some trouble, like a fight, and wasn’t feeling well so I brought her here.”

  
The three of them stood around the fairy’s bed, eyeing her carefully.

  
“That doesn’t sound good, sweetie. We should call the doctor.”

  
“I can explain, mom, seriously.” Bloom pulled at her hoodie, a change of clothes after running out to the store in yesterday’s outfit. “I think.”

  
Her dad shrugged. “Okay. Go ahead.”

  
Bloom pulled out her book of fairytales, its cover a faded and dirtied pink. “She’s...I don’t know she’s some sort of magical creature, okay? Like with a scepter, magic powers, fluttering wings, literally everything. Her fight was with a monster in the woods near the park and he called her a fairy.”

  
She paused. They had to at least take that much in before she told them that their own daughter seemed to have magical powers too.

  
“A fairy? Is that some kind of slang kids use?”

  
“No, dad. I mean like an actual fairy. She was actually pretty amazing.”

  
“What are you saying, Bloom? Is this some kind of prank?” Her dad crossed his arms, a rare show of anger.

  
“Good morning.” It was her.

  
“It’s evening, dear,” her mother sat on the bed, helping the fairy to sit up. “Are you alright?”

  
“Oh, wow. Uh…” She patted her body jokingly. “Yes, everything is in its place. Thanks for helping me out. Especially you, girl.”

  
“Me?” Bloom was nervous but could hide her smile.

  
“Yeah, you literally saved my life.” She crawled out of the covers and took Bloom’s hand, “I was ambushed and forced to transport to Earth of all places. I didn’t expect to find a fairy like you here.”

  
“What are you kids talking about?” Mike shook his head.

  
“Let’s call your parents, honey. I’m sure they’re very worried about you.” Bloom’s mother held out her cell phone.

  
“Vanessa! Aren’t you concerned that Bloom and her friend are talking like they’re aliens from outer space?”

  
“First of all, my name is Stella.” The fairy giggled with a toss of her blonde hair. “Second of all, I’m a fairy not an alien. And finally, you definitely won’t be able to reach my parents on something like that. They’re the king and queen of Solaria which is, like, six realms away.”

  
“That’s it.” Her dad took out his own phone. “I’m calling our family doctor. He’s very nice and hopefully he can tell us what’s going on here. This girl is clearly out of touch with reality.”

  
Stella squinted at him before pointing a ray of light directly at his phone. It turned into a carrot right before their eyes. In his cage, Kiko the bunny rustled into the open. Her father’s jaw dropped, unable to close again.

  
“Still think we’re off our gourds?” Stella rolled her eyes.

  
“Wow, how did you do that?” Bloom took the carrot from her father’s hands.

  
“It’s easy. You don’t know?”

  
“Why would I know?”

  
“You’re a fairy, aren’t you? It’s, like, elementary level stuff.” Stella looked concerned now. “You sent that ogre running with a full on energy blast after all.”

  
“This can’t be. This is nonsense.” Mike’s voice was hushed, as if he didn’t quite believe his words of disbelief.

  
Bloom looked down at her palms, as sweaty and badly manicured as usual, she wasn’t sure if she could ever recreate that feeling.

  
“Look, if you really don’t know all this stuff that’s okay. I go to a place called Alfea College. It’s a school where they’ll teach you how to master your winx and it’s the best there is.”

  
“I don’t even know if I have it anymore.”

  
“Magic doesn’t just go away, especially not magic like that.” Stella shook her head, a wondrous smile still on her face. “You’re probably just super rusty from letting them sit unused all this time.”

  
“Magic doesn’t exist here on Earth, sweetie. We’ve never seen our daughter do anything like this.” Vanessa said, her brows heavily furrowed.

  
Stella nodded. “Right. Earth is pretty dull. Uh, no offense. But where I come from, magic is part of life and powers like yours are pretty normal.”

  
Bloom held out her fairytale book, her hands shaking slightly. “Is your world anything like this?”

  
The fairy took the storybook and flipped through it. Bloom wanted to understand, but she still didn’t. What had she gotten herself into? Then again, she’d always wanted to escape into fantasy, a world where magic really existed. She’d always wanted to jump right into that storybook. Maybe she finally could.

  
“Hm. A little bit. I guess this was written by humans as fiction or something though, right?” Stella shrugged, tossing the book next to her on the bed. “What you and I have is even cooler. Trust me.”

  
Bloom’s fears eased a bit, leaving a flutter in her heart. Was this some sort of calling? Was this her destiny?

  
“You know what? I can show you.” Stella got off the bed and picked up her scepter from where it was placed carefully against the wall.

  
“W-wait! What are you about to do?” Mike held his hand out.

  
“I’m just going to open a portal to the Realm of Magix. No biggie, really.” Stella waved her scepter before he could respond.

  
A ring of light opened where the closet should be. Inside, the sun shone out as if it were day time. Stella hopped right in without hesitation. It was so strange to see the light change around her as she moved onto the grass, the bright green contrasting her orange skirt.

  
“Mom? Dad?” Bloom looked to them for guidance even now.

  
“I really don’t know what to make of this.” Mike held his hand over his mouth.

  
“You two don’t have to come. I’ll leave the portal open. We won’t move out of your sight.” Stella held out her hand. “You just need to see it, Bloom. You’ll love it.”

  
Before she could think, Bloom found herself taking the fairy’s hand. The smell of fresh grass, fresh air, and some sort of flower that, despite growing up with a florist for a mother, she couldn’t place washed over her. The warm wind caught her fiery red hair and combed through it lightly.

  
“Turn around.” Stella pulled her arm gently, causing Bloom to turn to the right.

  
In front of them stood a glorious building. It was a soft peachy colour, covered in domed roofs of lavender. Sparkling glass reflected in the sunlight back at them. The whole structure made a semi circle around a large courtyard.

  
“It’s...so beautiful.” Bloom sighed, just imagining herself walking through the gates.

  
“You should see it when school’s in session. This is where it's at for the most cutting edge education. Every promising young magic-user from any of the eight realms comes to study at Alfea and other school around the City of Magix too.”

  
Stella took both her hands to Bloom’s shoulders. Despite being close to a ticklish neck, Bloom didn’t flinch, she felt a comfort with them there. It was like the universe guiding her to her destiny. No more worries about where to go to university, no more bullies, no more fears. Right?

  
“The Red Fountain School for Specialists is just an enchanted forest away too.” Stella continued, “It’s full of non-magical heroes who train with magical weapons to be defenders for their kingdoms.”

  
“So, then are people born fairies?”

  
“Yeah, it’s like a magical trait that a few people just have. It’s uncommon but not abnormal. Then again, nothing is abnormal around here.” Stella laughed. “You’ve got species like elves or mermaids, born abilities like fairies, wizards, or witches, and classes of trained abilities like paladins or specialists.”

  
Bloom shook her head, overwhelmed by the information flooding her senses. From the safety of their home, Mike and Vanessa watched her through the portal. She was feet in front of them and yet she was world’s away.

  
“Magic and fairies. It’s ridiculous.” Mike said to his wife.

  
“I don’t know, sweetie. You see it as well as I do. If this really is Bloom’s true nature. Who are we to stop her?”

\---

  
Stella guided Bloom back into her guest bedroom, the comforting yet underwhelming feeling of home took her in. When Stella closed the portal, it almost felt like nothing had happened.

  
“I’ve got to leave for orientation by tonight with or without you, Bloom. But I’d really like it if it could be with you.” Stella sighed, her beaming smile never leaving her face. “I’ll tell your parents all the details they ask for. I’m sure we can convince them.”

  
“Thank you, Stella. I really hope it works out if it’s everything you say it is.”

  
“Oh, it is. Plus, I’ve called some of the guys from Red Fountain to give me a ride back. I don’t need it, of course, but I thought it’d be a good chance for you to meet some of my friends. Either way, I’m kind of looking for any excuse to hang out with Prince Sky of Eraklyon.” Her cheeks flushed yet somehow it was Bloom who felt embarrassed.

  
“Who is-”

  
The house shook, a terrible and familiar roar rumbled through the floorboards. It was followed by the shouts of her parents and another, less familiar, roar. A louder one. Before she knew it, Bloom was tailing Stella down the stairs, practically jumping over three at a time.

  
“Tell us where the girls are or you’re troll food!” The ogre’s familiar growl echoed from their living room.

  
“Turn around, sunshine.” Stella was already prepared, scepter pointed to the ogre.

  
Next to him was a larger creature, similar in stature but with slimy black hair and a vicious underbite. Bloom tore his eyes from him to look to her parents who held each other in the corner of the room, staying as far away from the monster home invaders as possible. Their coffee table lay in pieces in front of them.

  
“There you are.” The ogre grinned. “Make this easy for everyone and hand over the Ring of Solaria.”

  
“Please. When have I ever made things easy?” A flash of light engulfed Stella. Wings sprouted from her back. Once again the glittering orange outfit had returned and her day dress was nowhere in sight.

  
Bloom couldn’t help but gasp. How handy it must be to be able to tie your hair back and change into stretchy shorts at any given moment. Sure would beat the skinny jeans she was stuck in now.

  
“If it’s a fight you want then it’s a fight you’ll get!” The ogre nodded to the troll who didn’t hesitate in barrelling towards them.

  
Stella didn’t hesitate either. She flew towards the troll, the handle of her scepter pointed at him. Although he tried to grab it, she gave him a prompt blow to the head with it before following up with a magic blast from her palm.

  
“Make her fairy dust!” The ogre ordered again.

  
“Try it. I’ll kick your ass and not even mess up my hair.”

  
Bloom eyed her options, she could try fighting the troll too, or maybe turn it into a one on one fight with the ogre. She didn’t even know if she could use her magic but she felt pretty useless just sitting on the sidelines. Her parents were inching towards the kitchen to leave through the back door. Her father’s head tilts were telling her to do the same with the front, only feet away.

  
“Take this!” Stella’s magical blast was deflected by heavy metal cuffs worn against the troll’s arms. “Bloom, get out of here.”

  
“I-I can’t just leave you.”

  
The ogre sneered, crossing the fight towards her. “Oh, yes you can. Don’t try anything funny.”

  
“Stay away from her!” Stella turned her magic on the ogre, blasting him out their living room window.

  
“Watch out, Stella!”

  
But the troll had already backhanded her through the same opening. Bloom bolted out her front door, not wanting to be alone with that blue skinned beast.

  
“Are you okay?” Bloom rushed to help out her friend, carefully rounding past the ogre knocked out on the pavement. It was a good thing he was the one to pierce through the glass before Stella. An odd bronze ooze which she could only assume to be blood lightly splatted the ground.

  
“I’m fine. But we’ve got bigger problems.” Stella nodded to the window that loomed over them, the troll bared his teeth as he leaned through the frame, ready to pounce.  
Bloom shielded her head and closed her eyes, ready for the impact of a monstrous body slam but it never came. Instead, a warm blow of air and the sound of pressurized air filled her senses.

  
“Hey, Stella! Hope your friend’s the cute girl in the blue pants.” A boy’s voice called out.

  
She opened her eyes. A rope grasped onto the troll’s neck, yanking him out of the frame and just short of their feet.

  
“Yeah, and not the cute blue troll on the end of my leash here.” Another voice teased.

  
Bloom scrambled to turn around. Behind them were four boys, all dressed in the same full body uniforms of navy and white. Stella had gotten to her feet, pulling Bloom up in turn.

  
“These are the Specialists I told you about.”

  
“Okay. I suggest rescue op number three.” The first boy spoke again, Bloom’s fear subsided enough for her to see his long blonde hair sweeping over his face.

  
Stella pulled Bloom to the side. “Let them handle this. I’m getting dirty and you haven’t gotten used to your winx yet. Besides, they’ve got the transportation means.”

  
An odd red vehicle sat in Bloom’s driveway. It was some sort of mix of a rocketship, hover-car, and metal stingray.

  
“We don’t need any rescue ops.” The second boy again. He was already running around the troll, trying to tie it up. “I’ve got this puppy wrapped up all by myself.”

  
“Riven, one summer at a swashbuckler camp doesn’t mean you can go solo on a troll.” A third boy, who leaned on his bright green sword in a relaxed manner, spoke up.  
As soon as he said it, the troll found his balance and gave Riven a backhand to the stomach while his forearm was still free. “I rest my case.”

Bloom had to dodge his body as it roughly landed on the pavement.

  
“Shut up, Sky.” Riven grunted, trying his best to get up quickly.

  
The troll was already running towards the guys. The blonde one pulled up a shield and the rest took cover behind him.

  
“So, uh, guys, what did we learn about battling trolls?” The blonde asked as it took the impact of the beast’s punches.

  
“I was just going to slice him.” Sky backed up for a running start. He threw down his sword but, instead of into the troll, the blade hit the ground and sent some sort of glowing green energy through the pavement. A second later, Bloom’s driveway split, leaving the troll to balance one foot on each side.

  
“No, Sky. You’ve got to take out their feet.” The fourth boy, a redhead with glasses, shot glowing projectiles out of his gun, tripping the troll. With an awful yell, it fell into the gap in the ground.

  
“Wow, Timmy! Nice one!”

  
The ogre stirred. He turned around on his side, ready to grab the foot of Riven.

  
“Watch out!”

  
Her hands were warm again. A flash of light shocked the ogre and he let out a yelp, jumping up to his feet. The boys backed up, alerted of his consciousness.  
“Nice shot, Bloom!” Stella touched her shoulder.

  
“I didn’t-It just happened.”

  
“And you.” Stella stepped forwards to the ogre. “You’re outmatched. I suggest you make this easy for everyone and surrender.”

  
The ogre grunted at his own words being spat back at him. But with six magical weapons being pointed at him and his only ally out of commission, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. Before anyone could act, he disappeared in another puff of smoke.

  
“Ugh,” Riven kicked the pavement, “He escaped.”

  
Stella rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. Hopefully he’s scared off for good.”

  
“We’ll fish the troll out of the ground. Red Fountain can find a place for him in their creature preserve.” Timmy pushed up his glasses by their bridge.

  
“Thanks for helping us out, boys.” Stella skipped over to them, her energy even more enhanced by the presence of her friends. “Bloom! Come over and meet the guys from Red Fountain.”

  
It was so surreal. Not just the fact there were people from another planet in her yard who just fought a troll and ogre off, but the fact she had a cool friend beckoning her over to speak to cute boys.

  
“This is Prince Sky.” Stella nodded to the boy she’d stopped in front of. He was the most muscular of the bunch with long brown side bangs and a square jaw.

  
“That’s Timmy,” she gestured to the red-head who offered her a friendly wave as he pulled out an odd glowing collar from their ship.

  
“That’s Riven,” he responded with a glance, his eyes narrowing. Bloom was a bit taken aback. Was he angry at them or something?

  
“Stella,” he huffed, “Could you come and levitate this piece of shit out of the hole in the ground so we can collar him up?”

  
She sighed but headed over to where Riven and Timmy stood. “A ‘please’ couldn’t hurt, jerk.”

  
The blonde walked up to her and shook her hand, firmly but with a gentle release. “I’m Brandon. Nice to meet you.”

  
Bloom felt her cheeks get red. She wasn’t easily enchanted by boys, but when she was, she was. His hand seemed to linger a millisecond too long on hers.

  
“Bloom!” Her mother ran up behind her, giving her a hug and breaking the spell. Her father wasn’t far behind. They spoke over each other, asking her breathless questions. What was that monster? What did he want? Who were these boys? If only she knew how to answer them. Luckily, Brandon had an answer.

  
“We’re students at Red Fountain, a school for heroes. We’re training with beasts like these guys all the time.” He smiled, there was charm in his ease yet he came off humbly. It was reassuring, not just to Bloom but her parents as well.

  
“It’s really close to Alfea.” Bloom told them. “There’s magical schools for all sorts of people learning to fight off evil.”

  
“Bloom,” her father took her hand, “I want you to know that I want you to be happy. But this magic stuff, I don’t get it. Is it really what you want? What about your life here?”

  
The question nearly made her angry. What life here? Sure, she had great parents but what else? All she’d ever wanted was to belong somewhere. She didn’t need to be the center of attention, she didn’t want to be, but she did want hope for a future she’d enjoy. If a whole new world was waiting for her with open arms, how could she refuse without even trying?

  
“I have to go,” she finally said, “I can’t give up this opportunity. It’s who I am, I need to learn more about it.”

  
“We thought we’d still have you around a little longer. At least for the rest of the summer.” Her mother pulled her in for a hug.

  
“Hey, Bloom,” Stella came back over. “The guys can send us through a portal with their ship and drop us right off at Alfea. It’s getting to be morning there now but don’t worry, the first day is pretty chill and you can probably take a nap right away.”

  
Bloom couldn’t help but laugh. This was really happening. “I, uh, I don’t even have all my stuff together.

  
“You can pack light. Don’t worry, I can cover anything else you’ll need.” Stella assured. Of course, she was a princess, she was probably loaded. At least Bloom had already begun a half-assed attempt at packing for her yet-to-be-determined college.

  
“Call us every single day, Bloom.” Vanessa said.

  
“What happens if those monsters come back again? Or if you get sick?” Mike shook his head.

  
“I’ll be careful, dad. I have friends who can help me out now too.” Bloom sighed. It really was time for her to grow up.

  
“Girls, we’ve got to go. First day of school starts in a couple of hours.” Sky called out as they loaded the ship.

  
“Well, honey. Go get your stuff.” Mike sighed.

  
Stella took her hand, leading her inside. “Come on! Your new life starts now!”


	2. Save the First Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bloom begins her first day at Alfea, has a run-in with the witches of Cloud Tower, and attends her first dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made more changes to the story in this one than I will in most in order to smoothly combine the two episodes together as if it was one hour long live action or something. It's also going to swap between Bloom and Icy's perspectives in this one. Hope you enjoy!

It was like walking into a coral reef, soft blues and purples rippled through the peony palace as turrets and window frames. Bloom clutched her suitcase in one hand and her bunny’s cage in the other. Kiko bustled excitedly under the blanket covering him as if he could smell the magic with his hypersensitive little nose. 

“Bloom,” Stella nudged her arm, “You’re so tense.”

She rolled her shoulders, not even realizing her posture. “Wow, I guess I’m nervous.”

“Relax. You’re with me and I’ll make sure to show you _all_ the ropes. Honestly it’s just like non-magic school but with, like, better outfits and cooler classes.”

“I wasn’t too good at regular school either.”

“Oh, by the way,” Stella’s voice lowered to a whisper, “You aren’t actually enrolled so we’re going to need to pull a teeny tiny little trick on everyone.”

“What?” Bloom’s anxiety took another spike. “A trick?”

Stella shrugged. “My friend Veranda was going to start this year but decided not to. She’s going to be homeschooled instead. She gave me a letter to show the Headmistress but I threw it out back on Earth.”

“And you want me to take her place?”

“Exactly. She was going to share a room with me this year so it’s perfect. Besides, she’s a commoner so nobody knows what she looks like either way.”

Bloom huffed. If Veranda was a commoner then what was she? Was Earth really the bottom of the barrel? A place devoid of all magic? Bloom wasn’t one to lie, she was a goody-two-shoes and everyone knew it. But maybe it would be worth it to have just a taste of this world. Even if she was found out tomorrow, it would be worth it.

“Here we go, Bloom. Your first home in the whole magical realm.”

The gates opened upwards like spreading wings and the girls found themselves in a vibrant courtyard which the school itself wrapped around like a hug. They were late, lineups for the registration table were dwindling but hundreds of students bustled around the school grounds. Without hearing Stella calling behind her, Bloom walked up to the first empty check in.

“Name?” An angular looking woman leered over her cat eye glasses. Her sharp tone startled Bloom, leaving a string of stammers coming out of her mouth. What name did Stella tell her to go by again?

“Veranda!” Saved just in time. Stella linked arms with Bloom with a big smile on her face, “Wait for me, girl. Long time no see, Ms. G!”

“Not long enough, Princess Stella.” The woman’s voice took an even more somber tone. “After the incident last year I don't know how your parents convinced the school board to take you back.” 

“Well, I got held back a year but at least you’re getting a shiny new lab.” Stella winked and the woman resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“And who’s your friend here?”

“Veranda. She’s on the list.”

An eternity past as the woman flipped through the papers on her clipboard all the way to “V”. Why there weren’t iPads in a school full of magic was beyond Bloom. 

“There we are. Veranda.” She finally said before handing Bloom an envelope. “Here is your student ID and class schedule. Your ID can be used to open your room so don’t lose it. This school may be teaching you to refine your magic but we follow strict rules at Alfea. You are not permitted to use magic anywhere but the classroom under any circumstances.”

“Of course.” Bloom nodded, not sure if she would even be capable anyways.

“Princess Stella here can tell you all about the punishment for that. Usually it’s expulsion, especially when you destroy an entire potions lab, but it seems we’ve settled for simply holding her back a year. Now, head to the auditorium for a speech from your Headmistress before heading to your rooms.” 

Stella smiled through gritted teeth as they walked away. Once they were out of earshot, she leaned in closer. “You should have waited for me, Bloom. Griselda is the Head of Discipline. She’s, like, _the_ hardest person to lie to around here.”

“Sorry...did you really destroy the whole lab?”

“No way, she’s so dramatic. It was just a hole in the wall. The _outside_ wall at that.” Stella laughed.

Bloom chuckled uneasily next to her. Stella was so vibrant and cheerful, but it seemed she was also a bit reckless. Did Bloom need to be careful around her?

Despite the sweet exterior, the halls of the school were that of a disguised Ivy League university, or at least what Bloom imagined them to look like. The walls were carved beige concrete and the floors a shining green linoleum. Sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling and accents of cherry wood could be spotted on the decor that lined the hallways. Despite the classical touch, the shapes that the school took on were peculiar, as if they’d purposely tried to stray away from any straight lines. 

“Some of you will fight evil, some will take care of your planet, some will rule over kingdoms...” A short but dainty old woman stood on the stage as they entered the auditorium. Were they already too late to miss the beginning of her speech? Most of the chairs were already taken so they took to standing in the corner instead of disturbing those already seated.

“Each and every one of you is unique and will embark on your own journey to get in touch with your power source and how to master it. Here at Alfea we will do our very best to help you connect to your winx and train you for any situation.” Her voice chimed like bells, her smile was calm and content, she was nothing like the principal’s Bloom knew back on Earth. Headmistress Faragonda carried an essence of hope and pride in the first year students despite never meeting a single one of them. Well, except Stella. Bloom looked over to her only friend who seemed to be mouthing along to whatever the headmistress said. 

“What?” Stella whispered. “She said the exact same thing last year.”

“As you know, tonight we are having our annual dance with the students at Red Fountain School for Specialists before classes start early tomorrow. It will be a great opportunity to get to know each other and the students from another school.”

Bloom furrowed her brows. A dance? Parties and proms were difficult enough in regular school for her. Something awkward always seemed to happen from her date ditching last minute to spilling punch all over herself. At a magical school, she wouldn’t even know where to begin. 

“Uh, Bloom?” Stella nudged her. The speech was over. “It’s time to go meet our roomies!”

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a dance?”

“Oh, sorry. I thought all schools had a dance on the first day and that you’d be prepared.”

“I don’t even bring any dresses.” Curse her collection of mom jeans and leggings. “What happens at the dance?”

“It's a tradition from back when Red Fountain was only for boys. You can imagine the courting opportunity for some young hero princes and fairy princesses, right? Even now that we’re both co-ed they still bring us all little gifts as a show of good faith.” Stella winked but Bloom wasn’t really sure why.

“I won’t know anybody.” Bloom couldn’t help but gulp.

“What?” Stella stopped walking. “You really stress out don’t you? It’ll be fine, there's no pressure. Plus you already know some Red Fountain boys and you’re about to meet the three girls rooming with us!”

Bloom nodded. She had a point. Yet the pressure of an unexpected social gathering still weighed on her mind. Not only the dance, but now meeting their roommates. What if they didn’t all get along? She would still be lying about her identity after all.

\----

The rooms were like a whole hotel suite complete with a small common room and multiple bathrooms. The ceilings were towering. Three sets of double doors lined the hallway.

“We have two people per room usually but I got some strings pulled for a room all to myself.” Stella gestured to the nameplate that contained only her own. “Looks like ‘Veranda’ is in there.”

Bloom read the nameplate and noted that the door was already ajar. Her roommate, Flora, was already inside. She spared another glance at Stella for reassurance but her only friend had already retreated to her single. 

She approached her new room slowly. “Hello-”

“Ouch!”

“Ah!” 

Bloom jumped, eyes darting around but she didn’t see anyone, that is until she met eyes with the potted plant sitting on her roommates desk. Yes, eyes.

“What the hell?” Bloom whispered to herself.

“You stepped on my leaf!” The plant cried, its leaves tumbled like ribbons down onto the floor. One was clearly where Bloom’s foot was just moments before.

“Uh, I’m really sorry?”

“No,” a girl walked into the room, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left him there like that.”

This must be Flora. She was tall, although everyone was tall compared to Bloom, and strikingly beautiful with warm golden skin and hair to match it. Her strawberry covered sundress nearly matched the pink of their room walls.

“It’s a ‘him’?” Bloom could barely string together her sentence.

“Yes, I created him and taught him to talk so well.” Flora smiled, moving his pot further into her part of the room, just two steps up from the level Bloom was on. “My theory is, that if plants could talk, deforestation would be drastically reduced.”

Bloom simply smiled. Having a florist for a mother made Bloom very comfortable with plants all around her, but _talking_ plants? That could be another story.

“My name’s Flora. I’m from the planet Linphea but I decided to come here for schooling because I hear they have the very best potions program. Well, before the explosion that is.” 

“Oh, right. Well, I’m-” Shit. What was her fake name again? Bloom backed out of the room slowly, trying to get another peak at the nameplate. “Veranda!”

“She’s from Solaria like me!” Stella chimed in, meeting the girls back in the common area. “Hi, I’m Stella, future heir to the throne.”

“Technically,” a fourth voice appeared, “you’re already the heir to the throne. You’re not planning to be a prerequisite. It’s already owed to you more or less.”

Another girl stood in the third set of double doors. Her hair was short and pink. She spoke with an accent somewhat similar to what Bloom might expect from a British person on Earth. 

“Uh, right. Well, then I’m Stella the heir to the throne,” Stella crossed her arms, “And you are?”

“My name is Tecna. You’re quite infamous around here already, aren’t you?” She adjusted her track jacket, dark purple with blazing neon green lining. 

“Sure is.” Their final roommate entered the dorm, blue bubblegum slowly deflating between her red lips. “If you plan to blow more shit up then at least let us know beforehand so we can bounce, okay?”

“Hey, it was an accident!” Stella rolled her eyes. “We paid to fix everything too. I promise I’m not usually a huge troublemaker. Well, at least not enough to be making things explode all the time.”

“That’s too bad. Could’ve been interesting.” The bubblegum girl flashed a smile and her twin tails tilted with her head. “I’m Musa. Looks like this is the squad for the year, huh?”

“Looks like it. I think we’ll be the best of friends.” Flora caught Bloom by surprise as she touched her shoulder. “Good thing too because I don’t know anyone else here.”

“Hey, I have an idea.” Stella clapped her hands together. “I was going to take Veranda here shopping for a dress for tonight in Magix City. You girls want to tag along and grab some lunch?”

“Definitely. I’m starving.” Musa wheeled her bag into her room without even looking into it. “And I’m dying to check out that famous pizza place in uptown.”

“Yes, it does get stellar reviews.” Tecna raised an eyebrow. “I’ll come too.”

Bloom simply nodded, almost overwhelmed by the four cool girls that had just accepted her so quickly. It was a kindness she had rarely been extended in the past. Even so, they believed she was someone other than she was. Maybe she was an imposter in more ways than one. Even if she had originally enrolled in Alfea as Bloom, she still wouldn’t feel like she belonged.

\---

One more year at Cloud Tower and she’d finally be free. No more tests, teachers, or dorm rooms. Although she’d heard the first day assembly speech three times already, Icy sat up tall and attentive. She didn’t want the first years to think she was a slacker. It was a performance of sorts, the aura she radiated was intentionally distracting. It wasn’t even a magical aura, she didn’t need magic to ooze the charisma and confidence that she did. 

“I hope you all learn to be the best and worst that you can be this year at Cloud Tower.” Headmistress Griffin smiled, a sick sneer that even impressed Icy. “As witches, you have an array of spells at your fingertips. Magic can be pure and light, but it can also be vicious and dark. The history of witchcraft has been unafraid to balance the two and, not only accept, but indulge in the grimier side of magic that many other magical creatures have chosen to shut away. Each and every one of you has the potential to continue that discovery and use it for how _you_ please.”

Icy wasn’t listening anymore. Such words may have inspired her years ago, but she no longer cared for balance or even dark indulgence. Most witches accepted that there was good and evil to everything and refused to play by the rules of general society. It was commendable in its own way, but it wasn’t Icy. To her, magic was a blessing to the individual that made them special. Anyone and everyone should be trying to use it to their full advantage to be as powerful as possible, including asserting that power over others. Luckily, not many people did this and so that left much more room for Icy to stand out from the crowd.

“This year we’re doing something little different than our annual party.” Icy tilted her head, tuning back into Griffin’s words. “Red Fountain and Alfea are getting together for their own dance tonight, leaving us out as usual. So I’ve decided we should kick off the new school year with a school-wide competition! Submit a 500 word proposal by 5:00pm tonight detailing your plan to wreak havoc on their back-to-school dance. The witchiest scheme will be selected and those students have permission to carry out the deed themselves. Details will be posted on the bulletin board in the main hall.”

The students began whispering excitedly to each other right away. Icy’s friends were no exception.

“Nothing like a little contest to make the first years wet themselves with excitement.” Stormy snorted, idly tugging a strand of her frizzy hair.

“We should think of something.” Darcy adjusted her glasses. “It’ll be our chance to show everyone what we’ve really got. How many times are we allowed to cause trouble outside of school grounds anyways?”

“I don’t know.” Stormy said. “What if it’s just a waste of time?”

“Quite the opposite,” Icy shook her head, a sleek steel blue ponytail following behind her. “If our plan gets chosen then it’s the perfect opportunity to get close to Alfea and get Stella’s ring.”

Darcy looked around them, the students were already filing out of the amphitheater. “You’re lucky no one heard you.”

“ _Please_ , they’ll know soon enough.” Icy shrugged. 

A chime came from her pocket.

“Knut’s calling?” Darcy asked.

“What does that slimy ogre want now?” Stormy pulled out a file for her nails despite them already being sharp as knives. 

Icy answered her phone, the face of a large yellow ogre appeared on her screen. “Talk to me. And it better be good this time.”

“I-I just spotted Princess Stella off of school grounds. She went-Her and some f-friends were getting off a bus in uptown Magix.” Knut stammered over his words.

“Really? Interesting. We’ll be there soon.” She hung up without allowing another word, she liked to watch him squirm and then leave him wondering.

“Does this change our plan?” Darcy asked.

“Not at all,” Icy smiled. “It’s simply become a two-parter.”

\---

Magix was a lot more like a city on Earth than Bloom expected. With the exception of futuristic architecture and magically powered floating cars, it was practically like New York City or Chicago or some other out-of-state vacation she got to go on as a child. They even just had to take a bus there. Maybe Bloom expected something more out of a storybook like unicorns, giants, and bridges of rainbow at every turn. 

“All of these people can use magic if they have it. They don’t have to treat us like children.” Stella huffed, still on about the restricted magic rule at Alfea. “I could’ve just opened a portal and brought us here and we wouldn’t need to pay any bus fare.”

Bloom silently thanked Stella for paying for both of them. She had a feeling that would be happening a lot until she could find a bank that actually exchanged for American dollars. 

“It’s understandable. We may be adults but our brains don’t stop developing for quite some time.” Tecna didn’t look up from the phone-like device in her hands as they walked. She seemed to be playing some game that Bloom didn’t understand. “That will vary based on what realm you’re from as well. What is the average age of full maturity for Solarians?” 

“It doesn’t matter.” Stella shook her head. “We’re old enough to feed ourselves, go where we want, and manage our own money!” 

“Well, I mean, they do make food for us at Alfea.” Flora bit her lip.

“And we _do_ have a curfew.” Musa chuckled. 

“And didn’t you tell us you had a monthly allowance from your parents?” Tecna finally looked up with an arched brow. 

Stella crossed her arms, frustrated by, but not unaccustomed, to being challenged. Her playful pout suggested she might even enjoy it. 

“Hey, here’s a boutique with some party dresses.” Flora glanced in the window of the store they were passing.

Bloom’s eyes widened, the fashion in Magix sure was something else. In the window were some of the most cutting edge garments she’d ever seen. Would she really be able to pull any of them off?

\---

The answer, in Bloom’s mind, was no. After four stores and twelve dresses, it was very clear that nothing suited her. She poked miserably at her pizza. One bite was taken from it but the cheese tasted too salty. It was some kind of dairy from a magical animal she’d never heard of. It felt like nothing was going her way. Maybe this world just wasn’t for her after all. 

“Um, Veranda?” Flora tapped her shoulder.

Hm? Oh, right, that was her. Bloom huffed as a response.

“Don’t lose hope. We’ll find something that works for you.”

“Yes, there are several more stores that carry a variety of dresses.” Tecna said, “Your probability of success is still quite high.”

Bloom shrugged. It didn’t seem likely. The dresses either seemed too boring or too extravagant and the only one that she had found to her liking way far too expensive even for Stella’s monthly allowance. Besides, even if she had all the money in the world, everything clashed with her bright orange hair or washed out her pasty skin. She couldn’t help but notice every imperfection she was showing off to four beautiful strangers every time she pulled back the curtains of the fitting room.

“I don’t know, girls. Maybe I should just skip the dance all together.”

“No way!” Stella barely let her finish the sentence. “You are not missing your first dance at Alfea. As important as the perfect dress is, showing up is even more crucial. Besides, Brandon will be there!”

“Ooh, who’s Brandon?” Musa asked with a mouthful of pizza. 

“One of my friends from Red Fountain who totally hit it off with Veranda when they met the other day.” Stella grinned, a knowing look in her eye.

“Please, we barely know each other.” Bloom chuckled, the pinkening of her cheeks betraying her cool composure. “I don’t know anything about him except that he can fight trolls and smooth-talk my parents.”

Shit. Her parents. She hadn’t called them after orientation to tell them everything. They must be worried out of their minds.

“I can brief you on everything you need to know if you want.” Stella offered.

“Uh, no it’s okay.” Bloom distractedly pulled out her phone. “I have to call home. I totally forgot but...I’m not getting any service.”

Across the table Tecna laughed as Bloom lifted her phone to the sky in an attempt to get bars.

“What is that ancient device?” she asked. “You really something like that will pick up service here? It practically belongs in a museum.”

Bloom gulped, her blush deepening further. Was her phone really useless here too? Seriously? It was a bit old on Earth maybe, but only a model or two behind the latest. 

“Well, uh what can I do?” She sat down, looking into her lap, “My parents will want a call.” 

“I shouldn’t have laughed.” Tecna sighed, reaching into her pocket. “Here, you can use my phone. Any number from any planet should still register.”

What was slid across the table to Bloom looked almost exactly like her own phone but thinner and lighter. Tecna had already unlocked it, the graphics were so clear it was like a physical world existed behind the screen that was even higher definition than the one she sat in right now. The keyboard included unique letters and numbers she’d never seen before. 

“Thanks,” Bloom decided to take the call to Earth outside, she wouldn’t want the other girls realizing she was even more of an outsider than she seemed. 

\---

“Do we really need to follow them out to _lunch_?” Stormy scowled.

“It’s our only chance to get to Little Miss Sunshine off campus.” Darcy responded, the spell she was using allowed them to see easily through the walls of the restaurant from the shady back alley. “If only she’d actually go somewhere secluded enough for us to put the spell on her without being seen.”

“Be patient, ladies.” Icy frowned, although she was the least focused on the antics within the pizza parlour and simply sliding through her own phone.

“What exactly do we need to watch them eating pizza for?” Knut asked, his bulbous yellow body barely fitting in the thin alleyway.

Icy sighed. “We catch Stella alone, cast an attraction spell on her, put some slimy monsters in the gift boxes that will be given to the fairies, then, when they open them up, they’ll slither all over the heir to Solaria in no time.”

“The perfect revenge for losing us our troll minion. She’ll be humiliated.” Darcy chuckled. 

“Or better yet, be blamed for the whole thing and actually get expelled this time.” Stormy’s dark red lips formed a bitter smile. 

“Then we can use the commotion to summon the ring from Stella’s room without ever even needing to break into Alfea. A clean and efficient mission, prank, and revenge, all in one.” Icy said, “No need to thank me for this idea.”

“Griffin hasn’t even approved it yet.” 

“Trust me, she will.” 

“Maybe she won’t. You didn’t double-space it.”

“I’m not going to waste my paper supply, Darcy. We’re only telling her about the slime part anyways.”

“Well, I’m just saying-” Darcy paused, suddenly tensing like a shiver went up her spine. “Ladies, I sense an intruder.”

They directed their attention to the restaurant again. The redhead was gone from her spot at the table. 

\---

Bloom trembled from around the corner, smelling that ogre was one thing but seeing him again right behind where her and her new friends ate was another. It was unmistakable, he was the same one. She silently cursed him for making her cut off her phone call with her mother short and silently thanked him for leading her to this plan unfolding. Yet it was another curse since she could only see one of the three female voices that she barely heard. A young woman with long silvery hair sat on a crate between the backs of two buildings. She idly scrolled through a phone similar to the one in Bloom’s hand. 

“From Stella’s room...” the silver girl said, her words fading in and out with the wind, “Break into Alfea...”

It didn’t sound promising. Bloom leaned closer into the wall, holding her hair to prevent it from dipping around the corner and revealing herself, but trying to get as close as possible to hear more. If she knew the plan of the ogre and his people, maybe she could stop it early.

“You didn’t double-space it.” A huskier voice called from behind the ogre. Were they discussing homework now?

The voices lowered their volume. Bloom peeked around the corner and whispered her curse aloud this time, as if trying to will her wish into the universe. “Move your ass you smelly beast. I can’t see.”

It seemed like the universe was listening. The ogre adjusted his position and revealed three girls, around Bloom’s age, huddled in a circle whispering. She made note of their appearance in case Stella knew who they were. One girl had long dark brown hair, the other was curly and indigo, and the silver girl had her back directly to bloom. She towered as the tallest of three with navy heeled boots to add to the imposition. 

“Hey, cutie.” 

The husky voice was immediately followed by a blow to Bloom’s back that felt like being shoved by an elephant. She flew forwards a couple of feet into the alleyway, landing in front of the four confiding enemies. She scrambled to turn around, more concerned about who had attacked her from behind.

“Look what I found.” The brown haired girl, leered down at her. How was that possible? Bloom turned back to the group in front of her. 

“Nice catch, Darcy.” The silver girl smiled. 

With a snap of her fingers, the Darcy next to the ogre disappeared, leaving the one behind Bloom to rejoin the rest.

“Why so shocked?” she asked, “Are you really a grown ass fairy who's never seen a duplication spell?” 

Bloom tried to get her words out but stumbled over them. This is where magic powers suddenly manifesting would really come in handy. 

“This is that girl from Earth who helped Stella.” The ogre growled. 

“If you’re insistent on being a spy then maybe you can help us out.” The silver girl said, stepping closer. “We need to get your friend Stella alone so we can plant a little spell on her. Nothing harmful really. But it’d really be doing us a favour, you know?”

It was almost convincing. She spoke with such a soft expression despite knowing that they both could see through her lie. 

“No,” Bloom found her courage for a split second, “I’m not going to do that.” 

“Hmm.” The silver girl frowned, a white frost glazing over her left hand. “Maybe you need some encouragement?” 

“Icy, are we _really_ going to fight this Alfea first year?” The curly haired girl asked.

“Hold on,” Darcy held up a palm. Bloom let out a held breath. “We were going to get revenge on Stella for taking our troll, right? This piece of work was part of that problem too. We could always cast it on her and save ourselves a step. She’s literally fallen right into our laps.” 

Fuck. That didn’t sound much better.

“That works for me.” Icy tilted her head, glaring down at Bloom. “Just sit still for a second. It’ll be over quickly.”

Bloom tried to get onto her knees, ready to run, but a gust of wind threw her back to the ground.

“Thank you, Stormy.” Icy said, raising her hand as a pale blue magic stirred in her palm, “Make this easy for us okay?” 

“When have I ever made things easy?” Stella’s voice cut through the panic like a ray of sunlight. A blast of magic caught Icy by the wrist and caused her to stumble backwards. “Back away from my friend, witch!”

Bloom turned around. Her roommates all stood behind her. It made her feel powerful and helpless at the same time.

“So much for being stealthy.” Stormy crossed her arms.

In the time it took Bloom to direct her attention to that comment then back to her friends, they’d changed in a flash of light. Fluttering wings now grew out of each of their backs, except for Tecna who donned a tangle of glowing rods. Like Stella, they all wore outfits that sparkled in the sunlight, each in a colour that remarkably suited them. Bloom barely had time to wonder if she’d be able to transform in such a way before one of the witches spoke again.

“Knut!” Icy called over to him. “Time to step up and crush these losers.”

“With any luck we won’t even have to break a sweat.” Darcy scoffed. 

“Digital web!” Tecna cast some sort of spell that had the ogre held back by a holographic grid that glowed brightly even in the daylight.

“Sonic blast.” A ripple was sent through the air right out of Musa’s finger tips. Bloom’s ears popped and Knut, who was hit with the full blast, was left holding his ringing ears. 

“Get behind us, Bloom!” Stella ushered her over. It hit Bloom that she was still sitting on the pavement and in the crossfire. She scrambled to her feet, practically rawling on the ground pathetically while doing so.

“That poor girl barely has winx.” Icy could be heard speaking to the other witches. “That is just _so_ sad."

“Ivy rope!’ Flora conjured up vines from nothing but the golden dust that flew out of her hands. They promptly tied up Knut and rendered him useless. 

“Seriously? Why do we even have this thing?” Stormy growled. With a wave of her hand, a gust of wind blew them all backwards and broke Knut free from his restraints. The battlefield was bare yet again. 

“You’re done here, ogre.” Icy’s voice trickled with malice. “It’s time I show these little girls some _real_ magic. It’s about to get Piercing Cold.”

Icicles surrounded the witch and swiftly turned their angle to point at the fairies like knives.

“Everyone come here.” Tecna conjured up a large translucent shield and Bloom didn’t hesitate to rush behind her with everybody else. The ice crashed against the barrier but it didn’t break.”

Their safety was short lived as a flash of lightning came out of nowhere and struck the shield, sending everyone flying from the impact. Bloom hit back against a wall hard. She closed her eyes, afraid that opening them might let in another blow. An odd ripple of nausea passed over her before someone ran up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“We should get out of here.” Stella whispered to her.

Bloom finally looked up to see Icy’s eyes glowing white. A thin frost began to cover the ground in front of them. She was charging a spell. 

“From the depths of primordial space, I summon a box with a frigid embrace. Bring me the power to the palm of my hand and unleash it at my com-”

In a blink, the five fairies were back outside the grounds of Alfea. The whole ordeal almost felt like a daydream. Above Bloom, Stella held up her scepter. She’d teleported them out of there just in time. 

“Is everyone okay?” Flora was the first to speak.

Stella let out an exhausted sigh. “Yeah, all good.” 

“Who were those assholes?” Musa sneered, getting up from the grass. “We were literally just eating lunch.” 

“They’ve been after Stella and her scepter for a while now.” Bloom explained, happy to be knowledgeable about something around here for once.

“The Ring of Solaria?” Tecna asked.

“That’s it. But they underestimate my ability to protect it.” Stella dusted off her shorts before reverting back into her civilian clothing in another flash of light. “Back on Earth they even sent a troll to Bloom’s house to get me.”

Flora put her hands on her hips. “ _Stella._ Why did you just call her Bloom and say she was from planet Earth?”

“Oh, ah…” Stella furrowed her brow.

“I noticed you calling her by that name earlier too.” Tecna frowned. “Why have you been lying about her identity?” 

Bloom stood up. “She’s just trying to protect me. I can explain everything I promise.”

Stella ran her hand through her hair. “I really didn’t need all of this stress before a big dance. I’m going to be breaking out by tomorrow for sure.” 

Right. The dance. Bloom still didn’t have a dress, assuming she’d even be allowed to go at all. What if one of her roommates spilled about her identity? Not to mention that her back was killing her. 

“You can explain to us as we go back to the dorm.” Tecna sighed, also reverting out of her fairy form. Musa and Flora did the same. “We might as well make the most of our time if we want to be ready in time for the dance.” 

Bloom let out a sigh of relief. At least these girls seemed accepting. 

“Well, I’m a fairy but I only just learned about it a few days ago,” Bloom began, nervous to be recounting it all like this. “I found Stella fighting that ogre back on Earth and used my magic to protect her. That’s how I found out about any of this at all.”

“I had a friend who wasn’t going to make it this year,” Stella continued, “I let Bloom take her place since she’d missed the enrollment date but still totally deserved to learn more about this world she belongs to but has known nothing about!”

Tecna stopped walking as they reached the inside of the gates. “Wait, you’re saying you grew up on planet Earth? Magical children don’t come from non-magical parents, surely they must have mentioned something.”

Bloom shrugged, that part made no sense, if her parents knew something this big about her past then surely they would tell her. “My parents never told me anything. They’re definitely not magic, trust me. Maybe it’s a recessive gene?”

Flora shook her head. “I don’t know, Bloom. It doesn’t really work that way. Maybe there’s some way your parents are related to Earth fairies?”

“Did you say Bloom and Earth fairies?” 

Oh great. Listening in on them was Head of Discipline Griselda with Headmistress Faragonda right next to her.

“It’s my fault, Ms. F!” Stella spoke up. “I made Bloom lie about who she was. She wanted to tell you from the beginning, really. Veranda just couldn’t make it this year.”

“You’ve lied about your identity!” Griselda shook her head. 

“I’m just a girl from Earth but I do have magic powers I swear.” Bloom told them. “Please don’t send me back home. I’d really love to learn and grow here. I don’t know what all of this means yet but I want to.”

A silence lingered. Bloom gulped, fearing this wondrous world really would prove to be over her head. Maybe there was nowhere that she belonged. But, if this was the case, she was happy to have made some good friends for a short while. 

“It took a lot of courage for you to speak up this way.” Faragonda sighed, pushing up her tiny spectacles. “I think we should give her a chance. We _could_ let her stay and take Princess Veranda's spot.”

“We _could_.” Griselda scrunched her nose. 

“Bloom. I believe you’re a fairy who just wants to learn more about her past. I appreciate your unwillingness to go through with a lie. I’ll allow you to attend here in Veranda’s place.” Faragonda gave her a polite smile.

“Really?” A grin spread across Bloom’s face. She was quickly pulled into a hug by Stella. Her other friends were heard cheering behind her. They were happy she could stay. People were actually happy she would be around.

“You won’t regret this, Ms. F. I promise!”

\---

“I heard them say they were going to sneak into Alfea, Stella. While we’re all at the dance.” Bloom explained. 

The girls had taken over Stella’s single bedroom with makeup palettes and hair accessories. They’d only begun to get prepared for the dance yet they all looked gorgeous already. 

“Don’t worry about it, Bloom.” Stella ran a turquoise brush through her golden hair. “I’m not even wearing the ring tonight. It looks a bit garish with my dress.” 

“That’s worse. What if they steal it right out of your room and you have no idea?” Bloom asked.

“I keep my ring safely in a special jewelry box that needs a secret spell to open it. I can also track it whenever I want. If those witches take it during the dance then I can just go fetch it afterwards or report it to Faragonda.” 

Bloom bit her lip. Although it seemed like a stable plan was in place, she hated the thought of them getting away with it in any capacity or getting even a second with Stella’s ring. They shouldn’t be allowed to think they’ve won for a second. The way they left things was scary, those witches were prepared to seriously hurt them, what if waiting until the end of the dance was too long.

“I could always stay here and guard it.” Bloom offered

“Never!” Stella exclaimed, standing right up. “I already told you that you can’t sit out from this dance. I’d rather sit here all night than you. Of course, I’m not going to do that either.”

“I don’t even have a dress.”

Flora looked over at them, one rose shaped hair clip fastened into the top half of her hair that was held up in buns. “Stella! You didn’t tell her your plan yet?” 

“Oh, I forgot!” The Princess of Solaria ran over to her closet and pulled out a long baby blue dress. “Here. You can wear this.”

It was practically casual wear. Compared to the sunset orange gown fit for a Greek goddess that Stella wore, it looked like pajamas.

“Thanks, Stella. But...won’t I be underdressed?”

“That’s why I’ll help you transform this into a show stopping fashion statement.” Stella smiled, holding the dress up to Bloom for size. Although, reading the label, Bloom already knew it would be too small for her. “I have a sewing machine, scissors, a touch of magic, and an eye for fashion. It’s all you need.”

“Really?”

“Sure! I’ve got a lot to prepare for myself so I can’t help you the whole time though.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got some experience with sewing and cutting.” Bloom chuckled. From gift wrapping at her mother’s flower shop to trying some DIY styles in middle school, Bloom’s handiwork expanded past her passion for drawing and painting. She was no master but, with the right tools including help from some friends, maybe she could make something beautiful. 

She had to let out the back and string a ribbon through it like a corset. Cutting the bodice from the skirt to create a crop top look was also necessary according to Stella. Leftover jewels and lace, including a trim from the under skirt Tecna had cut off her own dress to shorten the front, was sewn onto the gap between the top and bottom. It wasn’t spectacular, but it felt a lot more comfortable on her body than anything Bloom had tried on in the city.

“You look great, Bloom.” Musa assured her although the Fairy of Music was nothing to scoff at herself decked out in red silk and ribbon. 

“You’re quite the thrifty designer. It looks rather chic.” Tecna eyed the use of her trim. 

“Well, I guess we can head down to the dance now.” Stella said. “We’re already fashionably late as it is. The Specialists are already here and I have some of the boys to say hello to.” 

“Uh, you guys go ahead actually.” Bloom sighed, still wanting to take care of one more thing, even though she’d already been told not to worry. “I’ll catch up with you there. I should call my parents again first.”

Stella narrowed her eyes.”Okay. But don’t take too long. I’m sure Brandon is waiting for you.” 

Bloom let out a polite smile that turned into a bit of a real one. As her friends left, she quickly made her way to the jewelry box containing the Ring of Solaria. She wanted to make sure it was safe tonight. Maybe she could keep it hidden on herself during the dance? Or maybe if she moved it to the room she shared with Flora then it wouldn’t be findable? Bloom traced her hand over the ornate white box with golden trim that swirled towards the center of the lid. The magic almost enticed her but she knew better than to pry through her new friend’s things. Suddenly, the box began to rattle. It rose from its place on the desk, dodging Bloom’s grasp as she attempted to force it back down. Seconds later it was out the door. 

\---

Those snotty little pixies had evaded them before but it wouldn’t happen again. Soon, it would be clear who was in control. 

“You should be thanking me.” Darcy said as she cast a spell to see through the solid wall yet again. This time, the target was the back to school dance. Specialists and fairies alike were dancing in the ballroom right next to them, completely unaware of the three Cloud Tower witches who watched and even less aware of the plot that was brewing.

“Thanking _you_?” Stormy raised a brow. “We’re all here doing the same thing.”

“Yeah, but I was the one who casted the last minute spell on the Earth girl.” Her purple lips pursed. “Never mind. I don’t expect your recognition.” 

“For what? Even without the attraction spell the slime monsters would just chase whoever was closest to them when they hatched instead. Not much would change.” 

“Ugh, but the point was to get revenge on one of the fairies who lost us that troll, Stormy!” 

“Quiet.” Icy held up a finger, manicured to talon-like perfection, “The Ring of Solaria is on its way. All we have to do is silently collect it as we watch the chaos erupt. Let’s try to let another opportunity slip through our fingers. Okay, ladies?”

Icy held her head high, putting the blame on them for not subduing the fairies back in the city. She could tell the girls on each side of her seethed but they didn’t dare say anything further. They knew better than to get like that when she was like this. They’d all been in each other’s lives long enough to understand the limit after all. They were three powerful and explosive young women that relied on the versatility of one another’s powers but constantly had to tread around each other carefully. It was quite the balancing act indeed. But Icy made sure that _she_ was the last one anybody would mess with, even them. 

“There’s Stella.” Darcy finally spoke as the blonde came into view of their porthole sized peephole. 

“Where’s the redhead?” Stormy asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Darcy sighed, “Whether she’s in the bathroom down the hall or fallen asleep in her bedroom they’ll sense her and head straight there.”

Stormy chuckled. Even Icy cracked a smile at the idea of the girl being ambushed by slimes when she thought she had privacy. Especially since the attendees of the dance would be sure to follow the creatures whenever they went.

“Here we go.” Stormy pointed to a treasure chest that was brought into the center of the room. The witches had managed to cast a spell while the chest was en route that would replace whatever the hell was supposed to be inside with leech-like creatures that simply desired to make a home wherever they hatched by spreading their goo everywhere. 

The chest opened and dozens of golden little eggs were handed out to each of the fairies. The anticipation of their dread, their shock and disgust, made Icy’s heart race. She watched as the first fairy twisted his egg open. An inky grey blog slunk out of its containment and flopped onto the ground with a messy splat. People around shouted in surprise. The other eggs rumbled, excited by the hatching of the first. Soon the ballroom was covered in the little worms. They began to sniff around and quickly, in one massive group, headed towards the door and away from the confused party goers.

The witches laughed, thrilled by their success. But it was short lived.

“Come back here, ring!” An irritatingly familiar voice called out. 

A jewelry box rounded the corner followed by that insufferable new fairy. She’d heard Stella say the girl’s name. It danced on the edge of Icy’s tongue, stinging her with a sour candy.

“ _Bloom_ …”

\---

Bloom froze as she rounded the corner and came face to face with the three witches who’d almost kicked her ass in an alleyway just hours ago. They looked different than before, now wearing leathery dark clothing. Maybe it was their version of a sparkling fairy transformation. 

“Bloom…” Icy spat her name out onto the ground. 

The jewelry box fell onto the grass in between them. 

“Shit.” Bloom meant to say it in her head but her fear overcame her.

“We’ve had it with you!” Stormy growled. 

The ground lit up in a white circle, Bloom leaped out before even thinking and effectively dodged Icy’s incoming attack. She ran forwards again, determined to get her hand on that ring. She’d come this far after all.

Darcy stomped on the ground, causing it to crack apart between Bloom’s feet. Jeez, this was even harder in a skirt. She stumbled to the ground. What did she expect when chasing the ring? To catch it before even running into the witches? Yet again her impulse beat out her foresight.

“There’s no escape for you.” Icy said, seeming to have regained her composure, which only fleeted for a millisecond when their eyes met. 

Stormy sent a Bloom-sized hurricane forwards. There was no use in fighting the wind that threw her towards the fresh hole in the ground. She was literally hanging on by her fingertips now. 

“You pathetic little bitch.” Icy leered over her, brows coolly raised and Stella’s jewelry box in her hands. “How’d you even get into this school? You have no magic power at all.” 

Bloom shook her head. She’d gotten out of this before, right? Why not now? What was going on? 

“No, I do. I do have magic. I do have power.” Maybe she was telling herself more than she was telling them. This couldn’t all be for nothing. She had to prove she was worth something, anything. She had to prove that she truly belonged here. “I know I have winx.”

What happened next was indescribable. It was like she’s transported to another world. At first she thought Icy simply blew her into the planet’s fiery core. All she could see was glowing blue light, as if somehow lost in the stars in the daytime. She looked down at her body. It glowed and she found herself moving without thinking as if performing a well rehearsed dance routine. It was so natural yet so unfamiliar. Stretchy blue fabric coiled around her body and cascaded down her arms. Finally, like an extension of herself, wings grew from her back and carried her up into the sky. 

Then she was back behind the school in the nighttime. Three shocked faces looked up at her. It was as if only a second had passed in the real world and the only difference was that she was now ten feet in the air. Bloom exhaled. “I knew I could do it.”

“Good for you, sweetie.” Icy scoffed, able to snap back her focus quickly yet again. “Too bad your little outfit can’t do the fighting for you. Darcy?”

Without a word Darcy cast another spell on Bloom that caused her vision to blur. It was as if she was doing a loop on a rollercoaster. But she couldn’t lose her nerve now, not after all this. While transformed, she could feel her magic was stronger, it flowed like lava through her hands and itched to be released. She flew towards the witches, aiming to push one down but missing them all. Luckily, they still became disoriented while stumbling out of her reach. 

“Now give me back Stella’s ring or else!” Bloom threatened, realizing how cliche it sounded as she said it.

“Hey, check out the balls on this one.” Icy scoffed.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Yeah a pair of wings like every other fairy in the realm and she thinks she’s the shit.”

With a chilling blast, Icy sent her backwards again. Quickly her arm was encased in a block of ice. It was so cold that it burned. Wait, no, it was her that was burning. Her hand glowed with a flame that quickly melted the ice. 

“You got lucky. I’m-”

“They’re heading over here!” A familiar voice interrupted Icy’s sentence. Griselda?

“Shit. The slime beasts have been chasing her this whole time.” Stormy growled.

Slime beasts? 

“Ugh. If we get caught here it’s all over.” Darcy urged. “We’ll be in so much trouble.”

“Fine.” Icy sighed, shaking the jewelry box, “We got what we came for. We can teach this brat a lesson some other time. Enjoy your slime, loser.”

With a snap of her fingers, they were gone. Bloom exhaled, the relief of the ending fight caused her to revert into her homemade dress. Right. The dance. 

“Bloom, be careful!” Flora called out.

She turned around to see a mass of wiggly leeches making their way towards her. Or, maybe they were worms? Or maybe they were just slabs of wet concrete. It was hard to tell. Either way, they were heading straight for her at a slow but persistent pace. A crowd of nicely dressed people sped walked behind them.

“Ah!” Bloom backed up but had nowhere to go. They were already at her feet. She braced herself as the cold gooey creatures made their way onto her brand new dress.

“Don’t worry!” A teacher called out. “They’re harmless.”

“Now that we finally know where they were all headed can we get rid of them, Wizgiz?” Griselda asked.

“Of course.” A small man with a pointed nose grinned. “These creatures always have a desire to find a home base to secrete its slime on. Usually a mother.”

With a wave of his hand, Wizgiz produced an enchanted jar that seemed to be of more interest to the slimes than Bloom was. They all began to crawl inside. 

“Why would they be attracted here? To her?” A girl Bloom didn’t know asked. 

“I swear they just had butterflies in them when we left Red Fountain.” Timmy’s voice. 

“Did you conjure up these creatures as some kind of prank, young lady?” Griselda was in her face now.

“No!” Bloom shook her head, barely coming to her senses. “Witches. There were witches here and they were stealing something from my room and they were pranking the dance. I just came back here to stop them.” 

Right. She had stopped them. She transformed into a fairy and fought witches.

“They must have cast an attraction spell on her when she confronted them to make sure she got covered in their slime.” Wizgiz explained.

Great. The cherry on top. She looked down at her dress, now darkly stained with goop as if she’d just been hit with a mud puddle.

“If that is the case then good job, Bloom.” Headmistress Faragonda said. “You’ve successfully led the slime monsters away from our ballroom and fended off the pranksters yourself.”

Bloom almost gasped. She was fearing ridicule and shame for skipping out on the dance and then ending up covered in gross creatures. It was relieving to know that these people were more accepting than those at her previous school. It was also a bit disappointing to realize that she’d maybe just been surrounded by rude people all this time. Then again, the magical world wasn’t free of that cruelty either as seen by her recent schoolyard scrap. 

“Well, everybody, we can go back to the dance now.” Faragonda clapped her hands together. “It seems there was a failed attempt to ruin our party but we won’t let it prevail. I’ll report this misconduct to Headmistress Griffin at Cloud Tower first thing tomorrow morning.”

Everyone began to walk away as simply as that, except for four girls of course.

“Bloom? Why did you come out here to fight the witches alone?” Flora asked.

“Yeah, if you wanted to get back at them you could’ve at least invited us to kick their butts with you.” Musa said.

“Just before I left I saw Stella’s jewelry box float off her desk and out the door. They were taking the ring. I tried to stop them, I even transformed but-”

“You transformed?” Stella gasped. “That’s amazing, Bloom. I’m so proud of you. Is your outfit cute?”

“Yeah, I guess it is but they still got your ring. I’m sorry.

“Pfft. The box on my desk was a decoy. I told you I had everything sorted out.” Stella beamed. “I planned a special surprise inside for anyone who dared to steal from me.”

Bloom’s jaw dropped. “So I did all that for nothing?”

“Not for nothing.” Flora took her hand. “You transformed! That’s a huge step towards controlling your winx.”

“If anything your gain is much larger by learning to transform _and_ the witches not getting the ring, right?” Tecna said.

She was right. It was a win-win for Bloom. Finally something was going her way. Well, except for her dress.

“Don’t worry about the dress.” It was like Stella read her mind. She tucked a piece of Bloom’s hair behind her ear and took a hold of her face. “I hear ombre is really in this season.” 

Bloom couldn’t help but laugh. At least she could wear her witch combatting, slime covered dress with pride.

\---

The ballroom was a silver wonderland from top to bottom. Chandeliers with ornate carvings surrounding their roots dripped from the ceiling. Similar carvings weaved their way up the window and door frames. The ground was a marble white. Fairies and Specialists in colourful party wear danced around the room joyously. A live orchestra played an enchanting melody.

“So, what did I miss?” Bloom asked her friends. “Besides the hatching of one hundred slime monsters.”

“Not much.” Musa laughed. “It was actually kind of boring before that. Except for the embarrassment that was Princess Stella and Prince Sky flirting back and forth.”

Stella gave her a playful nudge to the arm. 

“Yes, it was much more exciting where you were I’m sure.” Tecna said. 

Bloom chuckled. It had been an unbelievable day. Just a week ago she couldn’t imagine being here now. But in the past 72 hours she’d met a fairy, fought an ogre and troll, enrolled in a magic school under a fake name, been slime monster bait, and transformed into a fairy herself. But above it all…

“No, I can’t think of a better place to be than here with all of you. Even though I did just fight some witches and grow a pair of wings.”

“What more could you ask for?” Flora smiled. 

“I can think of something.” Stella arched her brow and nodded over Bloom’s shoulder.

When Bloom turned around, her heart skipped. Brandon, in a simple blue dress shirt and beige pants with a loose tie, stood there looking expectantly at her. He was a touch underdressed, like her, yet the blue on his shirt matched the unstained part of Bloom’s dress perfectly. 

“Hey, Bloom.” 

“Uh, hi.” She subconsciously reached to tuck her hair behind her ear before remembering it was still there from when Stella did it. Her hand lingered awkwardly in the air.

“Um, I thought it was really cool that you chased away those witches.” Brandon put a hand in his pocket. 

“Sure, except that their slimes got my homemade dress.”

“You made that? It looks great!”

“Really?”

“For sure. And I think it looks kind of cool like that. It shows how well you handled yourself out there. Especially since you just learned about magic the other day.”

Bloom felt warm remembering how the boys swept in to save her and Stella back at her house. Although she didn’t love the thought of being a damsel in distress, he was one of the first people she met on this journey, and thinking about that made her warm behind the ears.

“Do you want to dance?” 

She thought he’d never ask. With a nod, Bloom took his hand and swayed on the dance floor to the triumphant but steady violin solo. As they danced, she couldn’t help but think of how well his blue eyes matched hers. 

“So are you enjoying Alfea so far?” 

Bloom blinked, remembering herself. 

“Yes.” She said, glancing over at her friends who watched her eagerly. “I really am. I’m starting to feel right at home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s my inspo for how I imagined her dress and the ballroom in my version if you’re interested. 
> 
> https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0558/3725/files/FWD1_1024x1024.JPG?v=1500934586 
> 
> https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54d51015e4b0607b689c810f/1581958606192-UDL3ILRKFHQ5NXIFB4IU/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kHy1Pk5CWd5tBorWoGzY-N97gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0r9YoV8ytu8SWDj21Bt3yU8s0HTWbgKswoHQpDQVpOFIeJ1yIHJdUnW7gTQQPJ8tQA/Taylor-English-Photography-The-Read-House-Chattanooga_0020.jpg


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